Citi Gets Reserved Applause

Net Income Falls but Investors Emphasize the Positive, Sending Shares Up 1.8%

By

Suzanne Kapner

Updated April 16, 2012 8:24 p.m. ET

In a sign of how little investors have come to expect from the banking sector, Citigroup Inc. shares advanced Monday after the bank posted a decidedly mixed earnings report.

The New York company's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates, excluding costs tied to changes in the value of some Citigroup debt, while loans outstanding rose 3% from a year earlier, the latest indication that lending is starting to pick up. But net...